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20

Jun

2010

Raw Food Dehydrators – Do You Really Need One?

Saved in:-   Raw Food Diet Video,Raw Food Kitchen Equipment


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In this video I’m going to talk you through my 2 current favourite dehydrators, the pros and cons of each, and whether you really need one or not on the raw food diet.

The temperatures I mention in the video are all degrees F.

 

 

Key points

  • The food itself in the dehydrator should not go over the temperature it’s thought that the most sensitive enzymes start to get affected by heat, that is around 118 degrees F
  • That means that we can set the Excalibur dehydrator to between the 105 degrees F and 115 degrees F mark as that dial refers to the food temperature.
  • When using the TSM dehydrator you’ll want to use a probe thermometer and have the air temperature set to around 110 degrees F. I’ve found drying to be very efficient at that temperature. You can always use the thermometer to actually measure the food temperature if you’re unsure too.

Pros and Cons of the Excalibur

Pros:

    • Cheaper than the TSM and comes in a 5 tray version if you’re on a tighter budget.
    • Accurate temperature control

    • Cons:

    • Plastic casing can break over time if you move your dehydrator around
    • Tricky to clean out.

    • Pros and Cons of the TSM

    Pros:

    • Very easy to clean out – the fan and heater unit actually detaches from the main part to make it even easier.
    • Looks great!
    • Much more sturdy and feels like you’re using a professional piece of equipment

    • Cons:

    • Higher price tag
    • You’ll need a probe thermometer to ensure accurate temperature control.
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    • http://store.therawdiet.com/fode.html Mike Snyder

      Great video, thank you for discussing the two best dehydrators! If you are looking to invest in a new dehydrator, I recommend picking one up at The Raw Diet Health Shop ->
      http://store.TheRawDiet.com/fode.html

    • http://www.rawmazing.com Susan

      The TSM carries a 5 shelf dehydrator, also. One ore thing in it's favor is that is is MUCH quieter than the Excalibur. I run my Excalibur in a different room, I don't even know the TSM is running when it is in the kitchen.

    • Shoshana

      Thanks so much for sharing your dehydrator knowledge.. I'm just in the market for one now and this information was very useful.
      blessings,Shoshana

    • Zorah

      Thanks a bunch! The video was very helpful. I going to purchase the Excalibur 3500. It's more in my price range.

      Blessings,
      Zorah

    • http://www.livegreenwearblack.com/ Jenn

      I keep my nonstick sheets in the bottom of my Excalibur – that way, I just pull out the top sheet and wash it off – much less to clean out of the bottom of the Excalibur as a result.

    • Beth

      Can you run dehydrators everyday like an oven to warm things up or do they burn out too quick?

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

      Good tip, Jenn. Thanks.

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

      You can just keep them running, no problem.

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

      Thanks, Susan.

      As I mentioned the TSM ones are much quieter. I believe in the UK (where I'm normally from :)) They only have the larger one available, but good to know they do a smaller one too in other parts of the world.

    • Robyn Davis

      Thankyou Russell, your presentation about dehydrators is very clear and understandable. I actually bought a cheaper version on ebay when I first commenced my transition to raew food. Becuase I didn't have a good outcome with my bread I haven't used it since. However I see both of the dehydrators you present have a front door, mine doesn't so of course it doesn't retain the heat… think I'll invest in a better brand! Thanks again, Robyn @ http://rawageing.com

    • Jacqui

      Thank you Russell. That takes some of the mystery out of dehydrators for me.

    • Guest

      Excellent tips for researching your favourite dehydrators, really enjoyed the presentation as it was very informative. Thank you.

    • Melissa sifonios

      Thankyou for posting this! I'm very new to raw foods and have been looking at dehydrators just this week. This has been really helpful :)

    • Emanuela.

      Thanks Russell. It is nice to finally “see” dehydrators like this, gives me an idea of how big they are as well.
      Why are all the temperature measurements in Fahrenheit? I function in Celsius…

    • Rincewind

      Excellent videos and blog. I'm glad to get a glimpse of the other brand — I have the Excalibur 9-tray. There are a few improvements I'd like to see.

      First, the doors would be so much easier to manage if they were hinged! Setting the door aside is always a logistics problem when I've got my hands full of trays, and counters are full. What were they thinking!?

      Second, I've set my Excalibur on the counter in my pantry due to noise, heat and space. (Can't say that this keeps us from sampling as things dry — I wish, lol.)

      I find that the controls on the back top are hard to see even though I'm 5'10″ tall. They would be hard to see in any location unless you can walk around behind the dehydrator or set it lower than a normal counter. Even though I can guess the temp range or just leave it set in an acceptable range, I can't see the timer numbers at all without standing on a stool.

      Adding to that, the location of the controls means I can't recess this dehydrator into cabinets. (I would like to place my dehydrator on the microwave shelf but the shelf is even higher — 12″ higher than my 36″ counter which is standard for the USA — and the shelf is fit in under the wall cabinets. I wouldn't be able to reach the controls at all much less see them, since they would be stuck back under the cabinet above.)

      Again, what were they thinking!? Spend a little on wire and bring the controls to the front of the dehydrator! Better yet, install them on that hinged door!

      I would say that both controls seem to be fairly accurate. And overall, I'm happy with the performance of the Excalibur aside from these logistics problems. (The trays are a dream to work with! Simple, modular, easy to clean, easy to fill.)

      Just asking, are there any dehydrators on the market that have avoided these design flaws?

    • Rincewind

      Sorry to run on again, but I just had another thought. If the controls had set indentations or notches or audible clicks, we could just learn to set them by listening or by feel. Not as good as seeing the controls or having them out front, but it would help.

      Hmm, maybe I should glue some little markers or ridges in a circle around the controls myself so I set them accurately by feel?

    • Pingback: Raw Food Dehydrators « Get the Glow

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

      They all seem to have similar problems.

    • Lydia

      I keep my Excalibur 5 tray dehydrator (well I'm looking to upgrade to a 9 tray model soon) in the microwave area built into my kitchen shelves. I'm short so I have the same problem as other people in not being able to see the controls. So I have stuck some dymo labels at the 145F and 115F points so I can find them by feel so then I can adjust downwards accordingly. It works for me!

    • monica hall

      Russell thanks for the video on the 2 dehydrators. I need to purchase one so I can get started with preparing my raw foods. For a start I would invest in the Excalibur as in would fit into my buget. Thanks much

      Monica

    • Joan

      I recently checked the temperature behaviour of the Excalibur with a high speed thermometer and found it not suiteable for raw food. Since it does not regulate temperature but just uses a simple thermostat, heating will be just either switched fully on or off. This produces high temperature fluctuations: For a setting of 105°F/41°C the real air temperature goes up to 135°F/57°C. For a setting of 95°F/35°C it still reaches 129°F/54°C. According to the manufacturer that's intentional, since the evaporating air cools down the food and the food dries faster that way. This may be correct as long as it's wet, but food tends to dry on the surface first, so as evaporation diminishes, the food temperature will rise and so will denaturation of enzymes and proteins. For food to be dried totally like chips and crackers, food temperature will match air temperature, denaturing the food completely.

      Diagrams and pictures showing temperatures: http://www.rohkostwiki.de/wiki/Das_Trockenger%C3%A4t_Excalibur

      Manufactureres comments: http://www.discountjuicers.com/excaliburstatement.html

      For just about 20 Euros you can already buy highly accurate electronic thermostats today which keep the temperature tight to the nominal temperature. For just little more money they could easily have added real temperature regulation to the device, so the temperature would never exceed the nominal value. The device is not really low priced and as consumer i expected real temperature regulation instead of a simple two point thermostat as used in any sleazy room heater.

    • Ashley B

      Well that stinks…anything to say about that Russell?

    • ela

      Hi Russel Im not totaly raw yet,but have recently used an excalibar and found it amazing .
      We live in Spain,and there is a lot of food for free here.My partener has been making fruit leathers blackberry fig n banana, mango fig n rasberry,etc weve also experimented with burgers,crackers n bagels from soaked buckwheat they were absolutly gorgeous .
      Im liking it!!!!

    • http://girlonraw.com/ GirlonRaw

      Hey Big R! I never saw this video last time. I am totally directing my readers to this post next time I get a question about it. Nice one. Hope you are well. PS made coconut yoghurt today, without impaling anyone with a coconut!

    • Pingback: A Raw Recipe (or 3) | Girl On Raw

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James

      That’s always a good day!

    • http://twitter.com/RawFoodRepair James Reno

      Thanks for making these food dehydrator videos, as well as the pros and cons lists. Ultimately, I think the Excalibur is for me.

      Happy and Healthy New Year!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Malcom-Reynolds/100001754461321 Malcom Reynolds

      What are the pros and cons of the raw food diet? I am somewhat unfamiliar with it. I love me some cooked and fried food. So it would have to be a pretty convincing argument for me to give it up. http://mogulma.com

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James

      I’m not in the business of convincing people, Malcolm.

    • JJ

      Do you have any pros/cons about the good4u food dehydrator?
      Thanks for any advice as I am just now looking into using a dehydrator.

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James

      I’ve never used the good4u dehydrator unfortunately.

    • Gina

      Thanks for all the exquisite recipes and splendid information on raw cooking . I am learning so much! I just bought the TSM, but am wondering what kinds of sheets to use with it. I want something safe yet versatile. There is so much information about unsafe plastics. Just seems that I am going to such a great extent to get rid of food additives, etc that to place that food on unsafe surfaces during dehdyrating seems to defeat the purpose. I see you used a couple different liners. What do you recommend for the TSM?

      Gina

    • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James

      I use these ones: http://bit.ly/fNCBNJ

    • Fiona Stolze

      Nice video. Thanks for sharing. I just wanted to say that we are having fabulous success using our fan-assisted oven on the lowest setting. The crackers and bread turn out absolutely delicious and no added expenditure for now.

    • Susan

      I have a few things I could not imagine life without. My dehydrator is one, I have had my excaliber for over 30 years, my juicer is another (I have been juicing for about 50 years and my current favorite is the Breville), my vitamix is another (I was lucky enough to find mine brand new about 30 years ago in the recycler for $!00) and my food processor (a sunbeam that is at least 35 years old) is another. I use my vitamix, my juicer and my food processor almost daily and I use my dehydrator at least twice a week. They are all still chugging right along and I LOVE THEM ALL!!